Drat. I was hoping to do a proper Showdown, until I compared steep two of Specifically Tea’s Lung Ching and was met by astringency. It’s very light, mind you, but it’s there. Glancing over Jillian’s logs, I see that I should have, perhaps, gone for the third steep, but there ain’t nothing that can be done because I’ve thrown the leaves out already to make way for this guy. Showdown fail.

But we must move on, because this tea deserves a proper send off.

Dragonwell has been a historically light tea for me, and this one is no exception. Light doesn’t mean without complexity, thankfully, and so I find myself having to pull away from distraction and concentrate on what’s happening in this cup.

This tea has managed to retain its flavor even though it’s been about a year since I drank it. One of those teas I was holding off on finishing because it was so tasty, but didn’t get purchased for reason x, y, or 72.

Drinking this, even warm, is simply refreshing. The flavors seep into my tongue in a breezy, carefree manner. A saltiness rounded off by a complimentary leafy sugary flavor almost reminiscent of a particularly sweet bite of iceberg lettuce. A flavor that softly hints at roasted pine nuts adds warmth and depth to what would be approaching a crystalline flavor profile. The aftertaste, almost tasteless but with just a touch of flavor to remind you that something was there, feels clean.

These two dragonwells are so similar, yet when given the amount of attention they demand present enough differences to make them both worthy of a space in the cupboard. I’m going to have to remedy the near absence of delicious dragonwells in my stash. And soon.

In the meantime, I will simply be grateful for the fact that I was kindly introduced to two different varieties of this lovely tea by Steepsterites. In the interest of marking their brief presence in my tea drinking experience, and also inspired by the onset of holiday goodness in our house, I leave you with a picture.